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This website brings you the latest Australian country music news. News releases can be sent to news@countrymusicbulletin.com.au |
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TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2018 Remembering Reg This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Australian country music legend Reg Lindsay and a special concert will be staged on the day in East Cessnock in commemoration. The Cessnock Advertiser reported the concert – aptly titled Remembering Reg Lindsay – would feature guest artists Wayne Horsburgh, Jan Kelly, Bruce McCumstie, the Ross McGregor Band, Mark Shay, Dannielle Smith and Trinity Woodhouse as well as 2018 Reg Lindsay Talent Quest winner Louis Burt.
"To have all these wonderful artists on the same show to remember Reg on the 10th anniversary of his passing is really quite moving," Ros said. "Each and every one of them are very passionate about being involved in this tribute to one of Australia's true icons of the entertainment industry." The concert will also feature a slideshow of photos from the Reg Lindsay Country and Western Hour from the 1960s and Reg Lindsay Country Homestead which last aired in the early 1980s. Reg’s television shows won four Logie awards while his music career earned him countless accolades including three Golden Guitars for Best Male Vocalist, induction into the Country Music Roll of Renown and the Hands of Fame. He received the Order of Australia Medal in 1989. After moving to Cessnock, Reg and Ros established the Reg Lindsay Rodeo which ran for more than 20 years. Reg was inducted into the Cessnock City Hall of Fame in 2009. The Remembering Reg Lindsay Show will start at 2pm Sunday. Tickets are $10 per person and available from East Cessnock Bowling Club on 02 4990 1444. Weblinks – www.reglindsay.com.au, www.ecbc.com.au. MONDAY, JULY 30, 2018 Keith tour Keith Urban will return home for a brief tour early next year. Seven concert dates have been announced for the east coast in January and February, including two in Sydney.
General tickets go on sale at 11am Monday 6 August via www.ticketek.com.au. "This Graffiti U World Tour (already underway in the US) is by far the most insane energy we’ve ever seen at our shows," Keith said. Graffiti U is Keith's first new studio album in nearly two years. New Zealand born Australian raised Keith has consistently topped charts in Australia and the US over the last decade amassing more than 22 million album sales worldwide with combined sales of 1.4 million albums in Australia alone. His most recent studio album – Ripcord – was the second highest selling album in Australia in 2016 and the highest selling album for an Australian artist that year. Keith's major career launch was as winner of Toyota Star Maker at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 1990. Weblink – www.keithurban.net. THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2018 Kasey named Ambassador for Our Rainbow House in Zambia Kasey Chambers has become the Ambassador for Our Rainbow House in Zambia, Africa. Our Rainbow House is an Australian owned school providing education and nutritional needs for orphans and vulnerable children from the region. "I am really looking forward to working with these amazing students, their teachers and volunteers through music programs, fund-raisers and simple sharing the love," Kasey said. "Africa has been an inspiring place to me over the years and I am so proud to take on this role for a place that is changing so many young lives. "This small school is making a big difference in the lives of these beautiful children and I am proud to be a part of it. These children are so special..."
Weblink – ourrainbowhouse.org.au. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2018 Clarence Muster The Clarence Valley Country Muster will run this year from Monday October 22 to Sunday October 28. Now in its sixth year, the event will be held on the property of organiser Wendy Gordon near Grafton, NSW.
Pictured above (from left): Beccy Cole, Wayne Horsburgh, Anthony Baxter, Owen Blundell, Kelly Brouhaha, Jeff Brown, Beccy Cole, Laura Downing, Dale Duncan, Col Finley, Allison Forbes, Craig Giles, Terry Gordon, Bec Hance & Pete Wilson, Wayne Horsburgh, Graeme Hugo, Dan Murphy, Libby O'Donovan, Amber Joy Poulton, Charmaine Pout, Digger Revell, Kiara Rodrigues, Show Pony (Samantha Bellamy and Ray Pratley), John & Christine Smith, Justin Standley and Lindsay Waddington will star together with bush poet Bill Kearns "and friends". The Muster includes market stalls, working blacksmiths, walk-up opportunities (with a prize package valued at $2,000 up for grabs) and country music star street names. Weblink – www.cvcmuster.com.au. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2018 Star Maker entries open Entry has opened for Toyota Star Maker, Australia's longest running and most significant country music talent quest. The 40th Star Maker will run in January 2019 during the Toyota Tamworth Country Music Festival. It has been a launching pad for some of Australia’s biggest country music stars including (pictured from left) James Blundell, Beccy Cole, Gina Jeffreys, Lee Kernaghan, Samantha McClymont (The McClymonts) and Keith Urban.
"Toyota Star Maker has a responsibility to deliver a new winner to the Australian market who can take advantage of not only the year of their reign but for many years to come," said Co-ordinator Cheryl Byrnes. "Star Maker is looking for someone who is already making a considerable impression in country music, someone who has the country music x-factor, is driven and articulate, motivated and talented and someone who lives country music. "Entrants should already be working in the scene, have basic business knowledge and be prepared to work with a team with nearly 40 year’s experience," Cheryl said. "Toyota’s commitment to Star Maker is inspiring the passion to progress in both finalists and, in particular, the annual winner, setting the benchmark in showcasing Australian country music’s best new talent." Toyota Chief Marketing Officer Wayne Gabriel added: "Over the past four decades, Star Maker has been there to celebrate emerging musical talent and has launched some of Australia’s brightest stars." This year applications can be made online, with the terms and conditions available at starmaker.com.au. Entries close on October 1 with a judging panel choosing the top 10 who will perform at the 40th Grand Final on Sunday, January 20 in Toyota Park, Tamworth on the first weekend of the Toyota Country Music Festival. WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 Fundraising concert for drought assistance A major fund-raising concert is being staged in Country Music Capital this weekend to raise funds for drought assistance.
Pictured (clockwise from top left): Adam, Lee, Ashleigh and Lyn. All funds raised will go to the "R U Aware, We Care" campaign, a joint initiative of 88.9FM, the Country Womens' Association (CWA), NSW Farmers Association, Prime7 Television. the Salvation Army, Tamworth Business Chamber, Tamworth Regional Council and Wests Entertainment Group, supported by many local businesses. The campaign aims to "help put food on the tables of farmers doing it tough during the drought" by distributing food hampers to landholders as well as fuel vouchers. A number of other events and activities will be staged as part of the campaign. George Frame, Chief Executive of 88.9FM, said some of the drought stories he’d heard were horrific and it was time for the community to band together. "Some of the stories we are hearing coming from the coalface with farmers need attention," he said. "We’re getting pledges at this stage, there will be a number of events we will be announcing, some fairly significant that will be taking place in the next three to four weeks, we will be announcing them as we go." A website has been launched – ruawarewecare.com.au – where people in need can register for assistance. The finances and hampers will be distributed by the local Salvation Army and CWA branches. People can also make donations through the site.
Kevin Tongue, Chairman of Tamworth’s NSW Farmers’ branch, said the current conditions were some of the worst he’d seen and welcomed the community drought support initiative. "Even if we do get rain, it’s still going to be tough for another couple of months, because we’re going to have to feed our livestock for two months after it rains before we get some feed," he said. "It is very tough, I know a lot of farmers have sold their core breeding stock and just don’t know where to turn to next if we don’t get a good fall of rain very shortly." Tamworth Mayor Col Murray said the appeal was about showing the community was aware of the plight of local farmers. While Tamworth Regional Council is helping drive the fundraising initiative, Col said there were other forms of support council could offer. "They must come in and talk to Council," he said. "Council does have quite a generous and comprehensive hardship policy with regards to rates and charges. We’d encourage any members of the community that are out there in hardship paying rates to come in and talk to council." Concert tickets are available from the website, or by phone or over the counter at Wests and Wests Diggers, tel 02 6765 7588. THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018 Taylor heads to the US Well-known and respected Aussie singer/songwriter and banjo picker Taylor Pfeiffer will travel to America next month to attend a five-day advanced banjo course, Blue Ridge Banjo Camp, presented by banjo extraordinaire Béla Fleck in North Carolina.
Described as a quiet achiever, at 18-years of age, Taylor has gained airplay on Triple J, screen time on national Australian television shows Spicks & Specks, Weekend Sunrise, The Voice, The Today Show, and Nashville’s Music City Roots aired in the US. She has shared the stage with fellow artists like Troy Cassar-Daley, Kasey Chambers, Beccy Cole and Lee Kernaghan and has done her fair share of travelling, performing at every major country, folk, and blues festival in the nation. In November, Taylor will be opening for Australia’s most successful group, The McClymonts, in Hahndorf SA. A trailblazer from Adelaide creating her own sound in alt-country, Taylor released Take Her, a five-track EP in 2017 "showcasing her knack for catchy hooks and relatable lyrics," according to a spokesman. The title track reached number nine on the competitive Triple J Unearthed all genres chart. “With the release of Take Her, I feel that I’ve succeeded in showcasing my personal growth as a songwriter and artist," Taylor said. "I’m so proud of this EP, with a selection of contrasting original songs and a co-write with Matt Scullion.” An accompanying music video for Take Her sees Taylor in a vaudeville, 1920s setting. Filmed by JLM Studios, the music video continues to air on Foxtel’s Country Music Channel. A grand finalist in the prestigious 2018 Toyota Star Maker in Tamworth, music is Taylor’s first language. She has been singing since age five and playing banjo since age seven after hearing the quirky instrument in the theme song of iconic Australian show, Skippy The Bush Kangaroo. Weblink – www.taylorpfeiffer.com. WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018 New from Bobby Bobby Valentine is set to release a new album during the Hats Off To Country festival in Tamworth this weekend.
Bobby, hailing from Melbourne, has been a professional entertainer for more than 30 years working in various bands based in his home town and appearing nationally and internationally with mainstream artists like Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder as well many Australian stars. He has been a guest on almost every Australian TV variety show, notably as a regular on Hey, Hey It’s Saturday, The Midday Show, Bert Newton Show, In Melbourne Tonight (IMT) and Steve Vizard’s Tonight Live. Recently, noted Melbourne producer/engineer Damian Cafarella, who Bobby had worked with on a couple of projects previously, called and offeed his and Lachlan Bryan's services in producing an album of his original songs. The result is Writing My Book Again. Bobby will also be appearing at Tamworth's Centrepoint Shopping Centre on Friday on the Capital Country Radio stage. Weblink – www.bobbyvalentine.com.au. MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018 New milestone for Slim The late Slim Dusty has notched up another record in Australian chart history.
Which also means the work has been in the chart now for almost 20 years. And it's almost a consecutive record with just a few weeks not in the chart since the album was released. The achievement reflects the popularity of the man – who died almost 15 years ago in September 2003 – his music and his writing. Keith Urban, another Australian country music icon, noted a similar record just two weeks ago when his Greatest Hits album hit the 500 "weeks in" milestone, representing just less than 10 years in. FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2018 Hats Off next week Tamworth's "other" major country music activity – Hats Off To Country – kicks off next week, with more than 100 individual program listings and more than 100 artists in town for the four day event. The festival event – running officially from Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th – is second only to the giant January festival in Australia's Country Music Capital.
Other key events include... The Australian Bush Balladeers Association (ABBA) Frank Ifield Bronze Bust Fundraiser at 10am on Saturday at Southgate Inn... The Songwriters Showcases at The Dag Sheep Station, Nundle, from 11am Saturday and Sunday featuring Kevin Bennett, Jeremy Edwards, Shane Nicholson, Luke O'Shea, Aleyce Simmonds and Felicity Urquhart...
The Capital Country Music Association Salute to Rex Dallas on Sunday 15th at South Tamworth Bowling Club from 1pm... And the Songwriters' Retreat Showcase featuring Kevin Bennett, Brad Butcher, Jeremy Edwards, Jeff Gibson, John Krsulja, Brendan Nawrocki, Shane Nicholson, Luke O'Shea, Aleyce Simmonds (pictured) and Felicity Urquhart plus artists from the 2018 Songwriters' Retreat. Apart from these events, and attractions like the Country Music Hall of Fame and Country Music Wax Museum, entertainment, especially at pubs and clubs, are "free admission". More information, including a full program, can be obtained from www.hatsofftocountry.com. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 Centrepoint walk-ups at Hats Off
Centrepoint Walk-ups will run each day Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 13, 14, 15 from 11am. As we go to press, a number of slots have been allocated – "we found the concept was very popular and we got a whole lot of enquiry as soon as the word got out," said Jim Guider who is co-ordinating the schedule. Booked in so far are Ian Burns, Bruce Forbes, Finnian Johnson (pictured), Tony Kennelly, Becci Nethery, Hattie Oates (pictured), Red Heart Blue, Melissa Robertson, Brendan Smoother, Bobby Valentine, Ian Wilkinson and Trinity Woodhouse. Enquiries for remaining spots can be directed to Jim on 0409 795 492. Weblink – www.capitalcountryradio.com. MONDAY, JULY 2, 2018 Lockington 2018
Lockington is described as a welcoming rural town in northern Victoria 25 minutes south west of Echuca. The festival venue is the Lockington Community Centre and boasts "a great dance floor" and plenty of seating, ample parking, an area for self contained RVs and campers in close proximity. The Centre has wheelchair access to the hall. Meals, snacks and beverages will be available all weekend. No alcohol is sold or permitted at the venue. Originally hosted by the Echuca Workers Club, the festival was launched by Big River Entertainment in 2007 and continues to attract capacity crowds each year after changing location last year. Artists appearing this year will include Rupe Adams, Annette & Kim (from New Zealand), Country Horizon Duo (from WA), Craig Giles (pictured), Callum Gleeson, the Good Time Band, Mick Hocking, Justuss Duo, Kerran Keats, Kinta (pictured), Grant Luhrs, Ray Macartney, James Moore, Johnny Shilo and Alex Winnell. Weblink here. |
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Reg’s widow Ros said she was looking forward to presenting the show at East Cessnock Bowling Club where a bronze statue of Reg was unveiled in 2015.
The "Graffiti U World Tour Australia" coincides with Keith's latest album release, Graffiti U and will be his first for several years.
The concert will be staged at West Tamworth League Club on Sunday (July 22) with Adam Harvey and Lee Kernaghan as headline acts with artists including Bolton Crook, Lyn Bowtell, The Crosby Sisters, Ashleigh Dallas, Jayne Denham, Dale Duncan, Marie Hodson, John Krsulja, Pixie Jenkins, Ryan Morris and Bobby Valentine.
Taylor will spend a total of seven weeks in the US co-writing and attending festivals and conferences in Nashville, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
The album, titled Writing My Book Again, will be released at The Welder's Dog in Dowe Street on Friday. A lead single from the album, Too Many Beers, was pre-released to radio.
This week, his The Very Best Of Slim Dusty album ticked over 1000 weeks in the official Australian Country Albums chart.
Adam Harvey (pictured) is the festival's headline star appearing in concert at West Tamworth League Club on Saturday night, July 14.
Luke O'Shea's Dinner Show at North Tamworth Bowling Club from 7pm Saturday... 
The 12th Lockington Country Music Festival will be held this August on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 3rd, 4th and 5th.